dryly or drily--any opinions?
Baty
My spellchecker doesn't recognize "drily" and offers "dryly" as a
replacement. I keep seeing "drily" in books, mostly novels (he said
drily). All my dictionaries say "drily" is a variant spelling of
"dryly," which leads me to believe "dryly" is preferred. Any opinions as
to which is currently the more acceptable form in the US would be greatly
appreciated. Thanks.
Linda
Polar
I have only seen & used "drily".
I guess my larger question would be: Why are you
using a spell checker? They are really of limited
usefulness to anyone of a.u.e. calibre.
Polar
KJBlake
In article <31cc74ca...@nntp.ix.netcom.com>, s.m...@ix.netcom.com
(Polar) writes:
>>My spellchecker doesn't recognize "drily" and offers "dryly" as a
>>replacement. I keep seeing "drily" in books, mostly novels (he said
>>drily). All my dictionaries say "drily" is a variant spelling of
>>"dryly," which leads me to believe "dryly" is preferred. Any opinions as
>>to which is currently the more acceptable form in the US would be
greatly
>>appreciated. Thanks.
>>
>>Linda
>>
>I have only seen & used "drily".
>
>I guess my larger question would be: Why are you
>using a spell checker? They are really of limited
> usefulness to anyone of a.u.e. calibre.
Why do you say that? They're certainly a long way from perfect, and won't
catch "two" when you mean "too," but I find them very useful for catching
many typos.
Aaron J. Dinkin
> On 22 Jun 1996 04:10:23 GMT, Baty <ba...@teleport.com> wrote:
>
> >My spellchecker doesn't recognize "drily" and offers "dryly" as a
> >replacement. I keep seeing "drily" in books, mostly novels (he said
> >drily). All my dictionaries say "drily" is a variant spelling of
> >"dryly," which leads me to believe "dryly" is preferred. Any opinions as
> >to which is currently the more acceptable form in the US would be greatly
> >appreciated. Thanks.
> >
> >Linda
> >
> I have only seen & used "drily".
I have only seen & used "dryly".
帰aron J. Dinkin
Dr. Whom
KJBlake
In article <4qfrnf$p...@nadine.teleport.com>, Baty <ba...@teleport.com>
writes:
>My spellchecker doesn't recognize "drily" and offers "dryly" as a
>replacement. I keep seeing "drily" in books, mostly novels (he said
>drily). All my dictionaries say "drily" is a variant spelling of
>"dryly," which leads me to believe "dryly" is preferred. Any opinions as
>to which is currently the more acceptable form in the US would be greatly
>appreciated. Thanks.
I have never seen any spelling other than "dryly."
Polar
On 22 Jun 1996 19:21:04 -0400, kjb...@aol.com (KJBlake) wrote:
>In article <31cc74ca...@nntp.ix.netcom.com>, s.m...@ix.netcom.com
>(Polar) writes:
>
>>>My spellchecker doesn't recognize "drily" and offers "dryly" as a
>>>replacement. I keep seeing "drily" in books, mostly novels (he said
>>>drily). All my dictionaries say "drily" is a variant spelling of
>>>"dryly," which leads me to believe "dryly" is preferred. Any opinions as
>
>>>to which is currently the more acceptable form in the US would be
>greatly
>>>appreciated. Thanks.
>>>
>>>Linda
>>>
>>I have only seen & used "drily".
>>
>>I guess my larger question would be: Why are you
>>using a spell checker? They are really of limited
>> usefulness to anyone of a.u.e. calibre.
>
>Why do you say that? They're certainly a long way from perfect, and won't
>catch "two" when you mean "too," but I find them very useful for catching
>many typos.
Well, maybi you meke typoz, but I nevver doo, so thats y I donut
yews a spelchekr.
Pilar
Geoff Butler
>My spellchecker doesn't recognize "drily" and offers "dryly" as a
>replacement. I keep seeing "drily" in books, mostly novels (he said
>drily). All my dictionaries say "drily" is a variant spelling of
>"dryly," which leads me to believe "dryly" is preferred. Any opinions as
>to which is currently the more acceptable form in the US would be greatly
>appreciated. Thanks.
I would use 'drily'. Chambers has both, without comment.
-ler
Baty
>
>I guess my larger question would be: Why are you
>using a spell checker? They are really of limited
> usefulness to anyone of a.u.e. calibre.
>
Ah, but I am not of a.u.e. calibre. I'm just a writer trying to make a
living so my kids can eat. Is there a rule against non-a.u.e.-calibre
people asking for help from all you a.u.e-calibre people?
Linda Lea Thrasher Baty
P.S. I don't rely on spellcheckers. They are useful for catching
inadvertent typos. I'm doing proofreading for a publisher and wanted to
be able to backup one of my corrections. Since drily seems to be used, I
was curious as to why my computer insists on "dryly" and why "drily" is
listed as a variant spelling in dictionaries if it is the more frequently
used form now. So who you gonna call? Alt.usage.english, of course.
Baty
aaron_j...@fourd.com (Aaron J. Dinkin) wrote:
>In article <31cc74ca...@nntp.ix.netcom.com>, s.m...@ix.netcom.com
>> "dryly," which leads me to believe "dryly" is preferred. Any opinions as
>> >to which is currently the more acceptable form in the US would be greatly
>> >appreciated.
>> I have only seen & used "drily".
>
>I have only seen & used "dryly".
>
Well, I'm glad that's cleared up. No, really, I do appreciate the
responses. I guess it's a matter of personal preference since both forms
are used. Thanks for your input.
Linda
Baty
kjb...@aol.com (KJBlake) wrote:
>In article <4qfrnf$p...@nadine.teleport.com>, Baty <ba...@teleport.com>
> All my dictionaries say "drily" is a variant spelling of
>>"dryly," which leads me to believe "dryly" is preferred. Any opinions as
>>to which is currently the more acceptable form in the US would be greatly
Since I started this, I should probably end it. This morning I made a
twenty-mile drive to a larger library than is available locally. I
checked every dictionary with a post-1990 publication date, including the
most recent edition of the OED. All the dictionaries list "drily,"
defining it as "dryly." My older dictionaries say "drily" a variant
spelling; the newer dictionaries don't say it's a variant or alternate
spelling; they just list it, define it, and let it go. Based on that, I
feel that both spellings are acceptable. The OED does mention that
"dryly" is more analogous, being similar in form to "shyly" and keeping
the root word intact as in "dryness." I like "dryly," but "drily" does
appear in print quite often. I have decided to leave "drily" uncorrected
in the manuscript I'm proofreading, although I'll include a note to the
publisher that "dryly" seems to be preferred by the dictionary-makers of
the world.
Linda
Mike Barnes
Polar <s.m...@ix.netcom.com> wrote...
>I guess my larger question would be: Why are you
>using a spell checker? They are really of limited
> usefulness to anyone of a.u.e. calibre.
I don't know whether I'm of "a.u.e calibre", whatever that is, but I use
a spell-checker:-
1. to catch typos (my typing is appalling).
2. to draw my attention to the occasional spelling error that I make,
especially with unfamiliar words.
3. to catch use of English spelling when I'm supposed to be writing in
American, and vice-versa.
4. to highlight other slips like irregular/improper capitalisation and
and repeated words.
I'll readily accept that its usefulness is "limited", in fact it's hard
to see how one could disagree with that assertion. But it *is* useful,
nevertheless.
I would add that in Microsft Word 7, it's no trouble to use the spell-
checker. Without me doing *anything*, it gently highlights words it
doesn't know with a wavy red underline. For each occurrence, I can do
any of the following: correct it (usually using one of Word's
suggestions), approve it for all documents (by adding it to the
dictionary), approve it for the current document, approve the one
occurrence, or just leave it as it is.
Cost: zero. Gain: considerable.
BTW my Usenet postings are not prepared using Word and are not spell-
checked. Pity.
Regards, Mike.
--
Mike Barnes, Stockport, England.
This week's hot tips for the lottery: 12, 14, 23, 32, 38, 34.
Steve Driscoll
In article <4qhv50$q...@newsbf02.news.aol.com>, KJBlake (kjb...@aol.com) wrote:
: In article <31cc74ca...@nntp.ix.netcom.com>, s.m...@ix.netcom.com
[snip discussion about drily and dryly]
: >>to which is currently the more acceptable form in the US would be
: greatly
: >>
: >I have only seen & used "drily".
: >
: >I guess my larger question would be: Why are you
: >using a spell checker? They are really of limited
: > usefulness to anyone of a.u.e. calibre.
: Why do you say that? They're certainly a long way from perfect, and won't
: catch "two" when you mean "too," but I find them very useful for catching
: many typos.
I side with Polar hear. I know theirs alway to sides too every story.
Butt eye don't think it's vary important to spell check everything.
I almost never find anything misspelt.
Chuck Rothman
Baty wrote:
>
> My spellchecker doesn't recognize "drily" and offers "dryly" as a
> replacement. I keep seeing "drily" in books, mostly novels (he said
> "dryly," which leads me to believe "dryly" is preferred. Any opinions as
"Dryly" is preferred. You generally don't change the "y" to "i" when you
add "ly." (He said slyly.)
--
Chuck Rothman
http://www.greyware.com/authors/Rothman/
Join Albacon '96! E-mail for info.
Mike Barnes
>Baty wrote:
>>
>> My spellchecker doesn't recognize "drily" and offers "dryly" as a
>> replacement. I keep seeing "drily" in books, mostly novels (he said
>> drily). All my dictionaries say "drily" is a variant spelling of
>> "dryly," which leads me to believe "dryly" is preferred. Any opinions as
>> to which is currently the more acceptable form in the US would be greatly
>> appreciated. Thanks.
>
>"Dryly" is preferred. You generally don't change the "y" to "i" when you
>add "ly." (He said slyly.)
>
And luckyly.
Simon Buck
"Dryly" is preferred. You generally don't change the "y" to "i" when
you add "ly." (He said slyly.)
As in <dayly>, <gayly>, <prettyly>, ...?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Simon.Buck @ Computing-Service.Cambridge.AC.UK
Gwasanaeth Cyfrifiadurol Prifysgol Caergrawnt, CB2 3QG, Y Deyrnas Unedig
Anne Cheilek
Simon Buck <Simon...@Computing-Service.Cambridge.AC.UK> wrote:
>Ysgrifennodd Chuck Rothman (10421...@compuserve.com):
> "Dryly" is preferred. You generally don't change the "y" to "i" when
> you add "ly." (He said slyly.)
>
>As in <dayly>, <gayly>, <prettyly>, ...?
Handyly argued. Wittyly said.
-Anne